Brief overview
Church construction
Dereliction
Stripping
Reconstruction

Brief Overview
There has long been a church at Papworth St Agnes. Mentioned in the Doomsday Book (1087) there were early references that it was under the control of the church at Swavesey and prior to 1087 was granted to the Abbey of SS Sergius and Bacchus of Angers.

However the church that stands today is basically a mid nineteenth century rebuild. Many parts of the church date from different periods and have probably been reused from previously demolished versions. The church was rebuilt in 1530 as well as in 1848. In 1976 the church was declared redundant and was again threatened with demolition however this time the villagers rallied around and with the help of Friends of Friendless Churches managed to save it and began the process of restoration.

The church currently stands proud in the village and is the subject of ongoing works to improve it.


Church Construction
The site may be mediaeval but there is little of the church's construction that dates from this period. The door on the north side appears to date from the 14th Century, as does the south door. The door on the west side may date from the 15th Century. The tower arch dates from 1530 and the four gargoyles below the tower parapet may have been reused from the demolished buiding in the 1530 rebuild. The rest of the tower is typical of common East Anglian type, with three unequal stages marked externally to correspond with the tower space, silence chamber and belfry, and is thought to date from 1848. The Stained glass windows and remainder of the building was rebuilt in 1854 under the direction of the then rector the Rev J H Sperling. The church went under restoration in the early 1980's when the work included roof amd floor repairs, re-tiling and re-glazing.

Dereliction
In 1976 the Church of St John the Baptist was declared redundant, deconsecrated and was the subject of a demolition order. By 1977 the building was in such a sorry state anything of value had been stripped from the church including the pews, windows, parts of the flooring and the bells. A petition from the local residents of Papworth St Agnes and the help of Friends of Friendless Churches in the form of Dr Ivor Bulmer-Thomas and the Ancient Monuments Society saved the church from it's certain fate. It is now owned by the Friends and run by FOPSAC, is used by the village regularly and has become the communites gathering point for events.

Stripping
In an act that surely would have been deemed vandalism had it been undertaken other than under the instruction of the Church, many of the Church's finest assets were removed and have been lost.

The stained glass windows are of particular note. Most of the windows were removed and sold however after much fund-raising, one of the windows has been found and replaced to its former position.

The pews have all gone, however we have had an unconfirmed report that they may have ended up in Meldreth.

Parts of the flooring were lost to the asset stripping as were the bells and possibly the new font. Interestingly the new font's whereabouts may also be known however as the old font was lying in the church yard it has been brought in from the cold and replaced inside the church, interestingly it is believed to be mediaeval with chamfered square bowl supported on a cluster of four thick colonettes.

The mechanical clock mechanism was traced and returned to the village. It dated 1850 and was made by Dent. This was removed and replaced with an electric mechanism when it was restored in 1998. The mechanism now rests on display at The Institute of Horology in London and the new face shines boldly across the surrounding landscape.

The church organ was restored and used in Graveley Parish Church. The communion table and chair are both thought to be Jacobean.

Reconstruction
After much fund-raising and renovation the Church of St John the Baptist was restored by 1983. To celebrate the achievement the village held a Harvest Festival Service followed by a buffet lunch on September 24th. It was to be the first of many and Harvest Supper as it is now known is an annual event. Dora Tack in her book 'Whispering Elms' remembers "The brass candle-sticks and the cross stood once again on the altar and the pulpit was decorated with flowers and leaves for this first Harvest Festival Service in the restored building. The flower arrangers had done a wonderful job: Papworth St Agnes Church had come back from the dead."